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on HEAD’d your way! Jimmy Wang Yu’s kung fu classic ‘Master of the Flying Guillotine’ arrives newly restored on Blu-rayI hope they would do Blood of the dragon 1971 .
on Arrow gains some street cred! ‘Street Gangs of Hong Kong’ Shaw Brothers set arrives on Blu-ray in NovemberIt's always great to see Chan Koon Tai, Wong Chung and Danny Lee in contempor…
on THE PERFECT WEAPON IS BACK! Martial arts star Jeff Speakman returns to action with ‘Lost Echoes’Great to be soon be seeing Jeff Speakman back in films,as the connection with…
on HEAD’d your way! Jimmy Wang Yu’s kung fu classic ‘Master of the Flying Guillotine’ arrives newly restored on Blu-raymike leeder doesn't do commentaries anymore, so thats a win win! I do not min…
on ‘Lone Wolf and Cub’ star shines bright! Watch the Trailers for the ‘Wicked Priest’ collection arriving on Blu-ray in SeptemberMissing the spin off film, Whipmaster: Ballad of Murder? I could have sworn I…
on THE FURIOUS PART II? A sequel to ‘The Furious’ already in the works as producer promises a bigger follow upIn the mainland chinese cut, the villain who killed his wife in the lionsgate…
on Jackie Chan and Tony Leung Ka Fai return for Round 2! ‘The Shadow’s Edge II’ to begin filming in OctoberI liked the first movie until I hated it for being too overstuffed and that t…
on The Bodyguard (2024) ReviewGreat review, as ever, and really glad you're shining a light on these underr…
on James Lew, martial artist, actor and stuntman in films such as ‘Big Trouble in Little China’ and ‘Timecop’, passes away at 73He will be missed. It was awesome to watch almost any action film, and he’d a…
on WTF? Watch the blood-soaked U.S. Trailer for Joko Anwar’s Indonesian martial arts-horror-comedy ‘Ghost in the Cell’fun flick, tho.
on Heaven and Hell | aka Shaolin Hell Gate (1978) ReviewJust saw Heaven and Hell on youtube, and while it's pretty damn strange in so…
on HEAD’d your way! Jimmy Wang Yu’s kung fu classic ‘Master of the Flying Guillotine’ arrives newly restored on Blu-rayAbout freakin time!
on James Lew, martial artist, actor and stuntman in films such as ‘Big Trouble in Little China’ and ‘Timecop’, passes away at 73The Luke Cage guy paid tribute to him. https://www.instagram.com/p/DcbK2ZExau…
on James Lew, martial artist, actor and stuntman in films such as ‘Big Trouble in Little China’ and ‘Timecop’, passes away at 73James Lew was a very influential person in my life. I first discovered him wh…
on THE FURIOUS PART II? A sequel to ‘The Furious’ already in the works as producer promises a bigger follow upWell almost 4 decades ago, there was this little movie about a cop who fights…
on Anybody seen Richie? Okay, wrong movie. But Steven Seagal’s ‘Above the Law’ is coming to 4K Ultra HD this NovemberNoice. Happy Arrow/Toy Robot are releasing Warner Bros action classics. I'm c…
on THE FURIOUS PART II? A sequel to ‘The Furious’ already in the works as producer promises a bigger follow upWhat would even a part 2 be about, literally every bad guy in the first film…
on HEAD’d your way! Jimmy Wang Yu’s kung fu classic ‘Master of the Flying Guillotine’ arrives newly restored on Blu-rayFrank Djeng talks too fast, and with his accent I find him very hard to liste…
on The Fall of Ako Castle | Blu-ray (Eureka)Is this blu-ray available to purchase anywhere in the U.S. in Region A, Regio…
on FURIOUS director Kenji Tanigaki returns to work on Soi Cheang Pou Soi’s ‘Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In’ sequelRaymond Lam said that filming for the sequel has been officially completed (c…
Category Archives: Japanese
Assassination Classroom (2015) Review
Director: Eiichiro Hasumi Writer: Yusei Matsui, Tatsuya Kanazawa Cast: Ryosuke Yamada, Masaki Suda, Maika Yamamoto, Seika Taketomi, Mio Yuki, Miku Uehara Kanna Hashimoto, Seishiro Kato, Kang Ji-Young, Masanobu Takashima, Kippei Shiina, Kazunari Ninomiya, Wakana Aoi, Mirei Kiritani Running Time: 110 min. By Paul Bramhall There’s a painfully transparent trend being followed by the studios when it comes to mainstream Japanese cinema that’s emerged in recent years, and it’s one that … Continue reading
Terra Formars (2016) Review
Director: Takashi Miike Cast: Hideaki Ito, Takayuki Yamada, Kane Kosugi, Emi Takei, Shun Oguri, Masaya Kato, Rinko Kikuchi, Tomohisa Yamashita, Eiko Koike, Mariko Shinoda, Rila Fukushima, Kenichi Takito, Rina Ohta, Ken Aoki, Kiyohiko Shibukawa Running time: 108 min. By Matija Makotoichi Tomic Fans and those familiar with the work of Takashi Miike might be missing the “old” Miike; whoever enjoyed films such as Dead or Alive, Deadly Outlaw: Rekka, Ichi … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Hideaki Ito, Kane Kosugi, Takashi Miike
Kwaidan | aka Ghost Stories (1965) Review
AKA: Weird Tales Director: Masaki Kobayashi Writer: Yoko Mizuki, Lafcadio Hearn Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Rentaro Mikuni, Tetsuro Tamba, Takashi Shimura, Michiyo Aratama, Kunie Tanaka Running Time: 182 min. By Kyle Warner It’s long been my opinion that every great filmmaker should try their hand at horror at least once over the course of their career. Horror directors sometimes repeat some of the same themes, the same scares, the same monsters, and it takes … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Kunie Tanaka, Masaki Kobayashi, Michiyo Aratama, Rentaro Mikuni, Takashi Shimura, Tatsuya Nakadai, Tetsuro Tamba
Shin Godzilla | aka Godzilla: Resurgence (2016) Review
AKA: Godzilla: Resurgence Director: Hideaki Anno Co-director: Shinji Higuchi Cast: Hiroki Hasegawa, Yutaka Takenouchi, Satomi Ishihara, Kengo Kora, Ren Osugi, Akira Emoto Running Time: 120 min. By Kelly Warner In the 90’s, the Japanese Godzilla was killed off by his own nuclear heart going into meltdown, and the American Godzilla was killed off by the world’s general disinterest in ever seeing Roland Emmerich’s monster iguana on screen again. Toho’s ‘Millennium’ … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Akira Emoto, Godzilla, Hideaki Anno, Hiroki Hasegawa, Jun Kunimura, Kimiko Yo, Mikako Ichikawa, Ren Osugi, Satomi Ishihara, Shinji Higuchi, Shinya Tsukamoto
Return of Godzilla, The | aka Godzilla 1985 (1984) Review
AKA: Godzilla 1985 Director: Koji Hashimoto Cast: Keiju Kobayashi, Ken Tankaka, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Shin Takuma, Yosuke Natsuki, Eitaro Ozawa, Hiroshi Koizumi, Mizuho Suzuki, Taketoshi Naito Running Time: 103 min. By Kyle Warner Godzilla’s back. Warner Bros. is crafting a kaiju shared-universe along the lines of what superheroes are doing and will be soon be pitting the Godzilla of 2014 against King Kong. Back in Japan, Toho has jumpstarted their own Godzilla … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Godzilla, Hiroshi Koizumi, Keiju Kobayashi, Nobuo Kaneko
Golgo 13 (1973) Review
Director: Junya Sato Cast: Ken Takakura, Mohsen Sohrabi, Jaleh Sam, Yadolla Shirandami, Jalal Pishvaian, Arezu, Siamak Atlassi, Arash Taj, Dariush Asadzade, Ezatallah Ramezanifar Running Time: 104 min. By Martin Sandison A couple of nights after the screening of Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance, a real rarity was presented at the 70th Edinburgh International Film Festival: The 1973 version of Golgo 13, starring the legendary Ken Takakura (The Yakuza). Never … Continue reading
Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (1972) Review
Director: Kenji Misumi Producer: Shintaro Katsu Cast: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Tomoko Mayama, Fumio Watanabe, Keiko Fujita, Reiko Kasahara, Yunosuke Ito, Shun’ya Wazaki Running Time: 83 min. By Martin Sandison In February of this year, I attended a drinks function for the Edinburgh Film Festival, which takes place in June. I bumped into an acquaintance I’d known for many years, an actor and senior programmer called Niall Fulton, who the previous … Continue reading
Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701’s Grudge Song (1973) Review
Director: Yasuharu Hasebe Cast: Meiko Kaji, Masakazu Tamura, Yumi Kanei, Hiroshi Tsukata, Yayoi Watanabe, Sanae Nakahara, Akemi Negishi, Toshiyuki Hosokawa, Junko Ando Running Time: 89 min. By Kyle Warner After apparently feeling that his job was done, director Shunya Ito left the Scorpion series after the third film, Beast Stable. Stepping into his place would be Yasuharu Hasebe, a director with no shortage of experience working in the exploitation genre, including three Stray Cat … Continue reading
Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable (1973) Review
Director: Shunya Ito Cast: Meiko Kaji, Mikio Narita, Reisen Lee, Yayoi Watanabe, Koji Nanbara, Takashi Fujiki Running Time: 87 min. By Kelly Warner Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable is a very different movie from the two that came before it. Meiko Kaji’s Matsu the Scorpion is on the lam after having narrowly survived her prison escape in Jailhouse 41. Wanted posters with her face are all over the city streets, warning that … Continue reading
Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972) Review
Director: Shunya Ito Story: Toru Shinohara Cast: Meiko Kaji, Fumio Watanabe, Kayoko Shiraishi, Yukie Kagawa, Yuki Arasa, Hideo Murota Running Time: 94 min. By Kyle Warner In the opening moments of Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41, we find our antihero Matsu the Scorpion (Meiko Kaji) chained up in solitary confinement. She’s been locked away for a year after the bloodshed she caused in the previous film. The series’ familiar theme song … Continue reading
Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972) Review
Director: Shunya Ito Cast: Meiko Kaji, Rie Yokoyama, Yayoi Watanabe, Yōko Mihara, Akemi Negishi, Keiko Kuni, Yumiko Katayama, Emi Jo, Isao Natsuyagi, Fumio Watanabe Running Time: 87 min. By Kelly Warner Almost every ambitious leading man or lady is on the lookout for that iconic role that will shoot them to superstardom, netting them a legion of fans and hopefully a mountain of cash. Roles that earn awards can prove … Continue reading
Sadako vs Kayako | aka The Ring vs The Grudge (2016) Review
AKA: Ring vs Ju-On Director: Koji Shiraishi Cast: Mizuki Yamamoto, Tina Tamashiro, Aimi Satsukawa, Masahiro Komoto, Masanobu Ando Running Time: 99 min. By Paul Bramhall Starting any review of Sadako vs Kayako might as well begin with a recap of the two titular horror movie franchises that they’re a part of. As the cursed spirit of the Ringu series, this installment notches up Sadako’s twelfth onscreen appearance (soon to be … Continue reading
House (1977) Review
Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi Cast: Kimiko Ikegami, Miki Jinbo, Ai Matubara, Kumiko Oba, Mieko Sato, Eriko Tanaka, Masayo Miyako, Yoko Minamida, Kiyohiko Ozaki, Saho Sasazawa Running Time: 88 min. By Martin Sandison Ten years ago my knowledge of Japanese cult cinema was lacking to say the least. Then the best cinema in Scotland, The Filmhouse, put on a season where I caught 11 movies in two weeks. The titles I watched … Continue reading
Murder Unincorporated (1965) Review
Director: Haruyasu Noguchi Cast: Jo Shishido, Yoko Yamamoto, Kon Omura, Yumiko Nogawa, Eiji Go, Daizaburo Hirata, Hiroshi Cho, E.H. Eric, Kanbi Fujiyama, Tonpei Hidari, Hiroshi Hijikata Running Time: 85 min. By Kyle Warner Before the Nikkatsu logo even hits the screen, one of Murder Unincorporated’s characters directly addresses the audience. “Hey, you!” he shouts with a snarl. “If you don’t laugh when you see this movie, I’m going to execute you!” … Continue reading
Mozu: The Movie (2015) Review
Director: Eiichiro Hasumi Cast: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Takeshi Kitano, Teruyuki Kagawa, Yoko Maki, Yusuke Iseya, Tori Matsuzaka, Hiroki Hasegawa, Fumiyo Kohinata, Sosuke Ikematsu, Atsushi Ito Running Time: 116 min. By Paul Bramhall Takeshi ‘Beat’ Kitano is easily one of the most recognizable faces in Japanese cinema, directing a number of movies that are rightfully considered masterpieces. When he acts, it’s usually also in his own productions, so whenever news emerges that … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Hidetoshi Nishijima, Takeshi Kitano (Beat Takeshi)
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